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Terror threats make FBI reforms more important than ever

Posted: Friday, March 01, 2002

Last summer the Federal Bureau of Investigation was in shambles. A slew of miscues, security breaches, shoddy record keeping and potential cover ups had so eroded public confidence that the nation's leading law enforcement agency was considered only slightly better than the Keystone Kops.

In addition to seemingly regular misplacement of weapons and computers in recent years, the bureau sorely mishandled the investigation of former nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee and the Branch Davidian and Ruby Ridge standoffs. Then there was the discovery of thousands of documents related to the Oklahoma City bombing and withheld from defense attorneys, a mistake that threatened to jeopardize previous legal victories in the case. The FBI's credibility took another beating when it discovered a spy, Robert Hanssen, had been working in the heart of the bureau for years without detection.

Lawmakers from both parties made sport of blasting the bureau, and its widespread, top-to-bottom reform became their favorite cheer. The jokes, cartoons and satire depicted the bureau as a troupe of bumbling, incompetent pistol-packing clowns who couldn't spot a criminal if he was, literally, under their noses.

Then came Sept. 11 and the nation's focus shifted outward. Suddenly issues once considered pressing, such as reforming the FBI and streamlining the Pentagon, were put on the backburner. After all, the country had more important defense and law enforcement issues to tackle. Besides, most Americans felt the FBI needed to present a strong, fearless image -- not expose its weaknesses for all the world to see.

So it has been that, for months, the FBI operated with little criticism from the public or politicians.

Thankfully, not everyone has forgotten about the FBI's foibles and flaws. On Thursday, two senators called for significant changes in the FBI, including mandatory lie detector tests for people with access to sensitive information, increased Justice Department oversight of the bureau and more protections for whistle-blowers.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, announced they will introduce a bill which gives the Justice Department inspector general clear jurisdiction over the FBI, covers FBI employees under the Federal Whistleblower Act and creates an FBI internal security division. Periodic polygraph tests would also be given to FBI employees with security clearance to access sensitive information. Had the FBI already been giving such tests to its employees, many believe Hanssen would have been caught earlier.

We would agree that the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11 wasn't the best time for a thorough examination of the FBI. However, the post-attack investigation frenzy has quieted down, and it's time to refocus at least some of our attention. The terrorist attacks didn't make the FBI's problems go away, and, if left untreated, they will hinder the agency's ability to fight terrorism. We've seen what happens when intelligence gathering and investigations are allowed to lapse, and we can't afford to let that happen again.